AI alignmentIn the field of artificial intelligence (AI), alignment aims to steer AI systems toward a person's or group's intended goals, preferences, or ethical principles. An AI system is considered aligned if it advances the intended objectives. A misaligned AI system pursues unintended objectives. It is often difficult for AI designers to specify the full range of desired and undesired behaviors. Therefore, the designers often use simpler proxy goals, such as gaining human approval.
Reinforcement learningIn machine learning and optimal control, reinforcement learning (RL) (also known as approximate dynamic programming) is concerned with how an intelligent agent should take actions in a dynamic environment in order to maximize a reward signal. Reinforcement learning is one of the three basic machine learning paradigms, alongside supervised learning and unsupervised learning.
OpenAIUS artificial intelligence companyOpenAI is an American artificial intelligence (AI) public benefit corporation (PBC) headquartered in San Francisco, California. It develops proprietarygenerative AI models, particularly its generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) series of large language models. Its release of ChatGPT in November 2022 has been credited with catalyzing the AI boom; as of September 2026, ChatGPT is the fifth-most-visited website globally.
AI safetyArtificial intelligence field of studyAI safety is an interdisciplinary field focused on preventing accidents, misuse, or other harmful consequences arising from artificial intelligence systems. It encompasses AI alignment (which aims to ensure AI systems behave as intended), monitoring AI systems for risks, and enhancing their robustness. The field is particularly concerned with existential risks posed by advanced AI models.
Dario AmodeiDario Amodei (born 1983) is an American artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and entrepreneur. In 2021, he and his sister Daniela Amodei co-founded Anthropic, the company behind the large language model series Claude. Prior to that, he was the vice president of research at OpenAI. In his capacity as Anthropic's CEO, Amodei often writes on the benefits and risks of advanced AI systems.
Artificial intelligenceIntelligence in machinesArtificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making.
Wirehead (science fiction)In science fiction, wireheading is a term associated with fictional or futuristic applications of brain stimulation reward, the act of directly triggering the brain's reward center by electrical stimulation of an inserted wire, for the purpose of "short-circuiting" the brain's normal reward process and artificially inducing pleasure. Scientists have successfully performed brain stimulation reward on rats (1950s) and humans (1960s).
Goodhart's lawGoodhart's law is an adage that has been stated as, "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure".
LoopholeA loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow vertical window in a wall through which an archer (or, later, gunman) could shoot.
Loss functionIn mathematical optimization and decision theory, a loss function or cost function (sometimes also called an error function) is a function that maps an event or values of one or more variables onto a real number intuitively representing some "cost" associated with the event. An optimization problem seeks to minimize a loss function.
FeedbackFeedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to feed back into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled carefully when applied to feedback systems: Simple causal reasoning about a feedback system is difficult because the first system influences the second and second system influences the first, leading to a circular argument.
Google DeepMindAI research laboratoryDeepMind Technologies Limited, trading asGoogle DeepMind or simply DeepMind, is a British-American artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory which serves as a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Founded in the UK in 2010, it was acquired by Google in 2014, and merged with Google AI's Google Brain division to become Google DeepMind in April 2023.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.